Water levels have been very up and down all week, ranging from 2 gates open up to 4, and back to 2 again, although after this morning’s heavy rain and seeing the forecast I won’t be surprised to see that go up again. Salmon are running the weir in very good numbers now, with many running straight through in the high water. Flyfishing has been difficult due to the conditions, although fly anglers are still getting fish, with many also being caught on spinner or shrimp.
There were 35 fish landed for the week, and among the anglers to score were Conor Haughey from Dublin, who had a 4lbs grilse on shrimp, and fellow Dublin angler Dermot Quinlan who had 2 grilse to 6lbs on shrimp. Michael Rogers from Dublin landed 3 fish over 2 days, all grilse and all caught on spinner, while his friend Andy Smyth landed a 7lbs grilse on fly and a 5.5lbs fish on shrimp. Northern Ireland angler Dexter Lynas, a longtime visitor to Galway, caught a nice 6.5lbs fish in high water on the fly, while Jim Ryan from Tipperary took 2 grilse to 6lbs on fly also. Kildare man Sean McManmon took 2 grilse on fly, while Offaly angler Liam Dunne landed a 7.5lbs fish on shrimp.
Damien Nolan from Clare landed a 5lbs grilse and the best fish of the week, a 10.5lbs salmon, both on shrimp, while Dublin angler Brian Howard took 2 grilse on fly. Local man Dave Lenihan showed his expert knowledge of the fishery by landing 3 grilse, including 2 on fly and one on shrimp.
Fishing prospects depend very much on water levels over the next week, but runs of fish are very good at the moment and should produce good fishing.
Gary Robinson sends us this report from West Cork:
I headed for the County of Cork in the south west of Ireland for the weekend. The area is a paradise for kayak anglers, with the many bays and headlands there is nearly always some location to be found that is in out of the worst of the big swells and high winds that can be a feature of this part of Ireland’s rugged coastline. To say the place is picturesque would not do it justice. Breathtaking is a better word and a fine place to spend a couple of days with the kayak, whether fish get caught or not. Honestly, to spend time in these surroundings is a privilege; to catch fish is just a bonus. Fortunately for me it looked like I was due a lot of bonuses. I had a bit of a bad run of luck recently, among other things I had my car broken into and my two waterproof cameras were stolen so I was due a bit of good luck. And what better way to get over such events as a bit of fishing therapy? With it still being a little bit early in the marine fishing season I thought that targeting Pollack in County Cork would be one way to lift my spirits.
Scenic West Cork
Pollack are considered a clean species and can grow over a metre in length. They have a fairly strongly defined lateral line and the colouration starts with a white underside, the flanks are lot darker, being said to be a mix of very dark olive towards black. When the sun hits them I think that bronze is the closest colour that could be used to describe them. They can be found anywhere in the water column up to depths of approximately 180 metres/600 feet. They grow to an impressive size with the Irish record just breaking 19lbs/8.6kg but many anglers would consider a 12lb/5.5kg fish to be a catch of a lifetime. They are a fantastic sport fish, making many powerful dives for bottom cover once hooked.
With this in mind I decided to target them with a light set up. My weapon of choice would be an 8 foot/2.4 metre light action spinning rod used for fishing for small trout and European perch which would be similar to the American small-mouth bass. I was using a fixed spool reel and it was loaded up with 10lb/4.5kg monofilament line. At the important end of the tackle I used 1oz/30gr jig heads and some 6 inch/15 cm soft plastic or rubber worms. The hard fighting Pollack would provide tremendous sport on this light type of set up. The plan was to get out in the kayak and drift. As I drifted I would cast the lure in the opposite direction to the drift, wait until it hit bottom and slowly crank the lure back towards me. Frequently, Pollack will see a lure rising through the water column and can follow it for quite some distance before engulfing it and diving back towards the bottom for cover. The first dive that the fish makes is generally the most powerful and if you can beat them on their first dive then you should be able to boat them. The bigger fish will still make multiple dives after the first which can result in rod bending lunges and a 5lb/2.2kg fish will have no trouble towing the kayak for a short distance.
Baits used on the day
On what turned out to be a day’s sport that surpassed all my expectations, I hit the waves at about 8.00am by launching from a small harbour area. I was fishing in a large bay, sheltered from the worst of the easterly wind that was blowing. I planned to drift about, using the fish finder to look for features and target these areas. Water temperature was a little on the chilly side with 53°f/11.6°c showing up on the fish finder. Temperatures like that mean there are a few weeks to go yet before the sea warms up enough to entice a multitude of species to come in close to shore but I figured it still should have been fine for some Pollack fishing. The first hour or so was slow going but by about 10.00am I drifted over an area that looked very interesting on the fish finder screen. I was passing over a couple of drop-offs where the bottom shelved from 60 feet/18 metres down to 70 feet/21 metres. Along this little underwater shelf were a couple of quite large fish signals that I just had to drop a bait down towards.
I let the bait hit the bottom, started cranking it in and within seven or eight turns of the reel handle, the rod locked over and I felt the pull of a decent fish. After a couple of deep lunges and a spirited fight I was looking at my first Pollack of the day, a fish of about 5lb/2.2kgs. A good start to the day and hopefully that fish was an indicator of how the day was going to progress. It was! The next few hours could only be described as ridiculous fishing. It wasn’t really fishing at all, it was more like catching! Nearly every cast of the soft plastic bait resulted in it being hammered by Pollack. One or two fish took it on the drop but most of them waited until the retrieve and hit the lure just as it was rising up off the bottom. You could feel the fish nipping at the tail of the worm two or three times on most retrieves and then the rod would lock over and you would be connected to yet another powerful adversary. The deep surging run of these fish have to be felt to be believed and to experience them on such light tackle was pure joy. I have no idea how many Pollack I caught, I stopped counting after I hit thirty and that was as early as 11.30am!!!
Gary leaving the shore
By 15.30 I was starting to get hungry and decide I would break for a couple of hours to get some food and just relax for a couple of hours but I fully intended to get back out there for the evening. Regrettably, I had to bring two fish ashore with me. They had hit the lures hard and bled a lot when I tried to remove them, eventually going belly up when I returned them to the water. Still, they made a great dinner and they also gave me an opportunity to weigh a couple of fish. The pair that I landed with were not the biggest of the morning session and the larger of the two came in at 8lb/3.6kg and by looking at that fish I reckoned I had some that were getting very close to the 10lb/4.5kg barrier.
Paddling to his mark
For the evening session I hit the water at about 18.00 and headed off for the same spot. The sport continued to be excellent but maybe not quite as hectic as the morning. The trade-off for this was that the average size seemed to increase a little. Having weighed the 8lb/3.6kg fish at lunch time and being able to work off that example, I think that some of the fish I landed in the evening session were well over 10lb/4.5kg probably getting up to about 12lb/5.5kg. Some of the fish that I landed were the same length as my leg and I am 6’2”/188cms tall!!
While the sport was far better than I expected and the thrill of catching such fish on the very light tackle was thrilling, I will be back down to the area for another go with some stronger gear. I connected with two different fish and no matter what I tried; my set up just did not have the backbone to pull them off the bottom. A pair of leviathans that got the better of me, but I will get the better of them eventually. The session was a good distance for me to travel – a 560 mile/900km round-trip. When I get my waterproof cameras replaced I will go back to the same area and try again. I aim to be there again by August.
Bill Ryan gives us this excellent report from West Clare:
Tuesday, 26 June 2012 Anthony and I continue our experiments with Light Rock Fishing in West Clare. We are discovering new marks suitable to this very sporting method of Sea Angling. From The Bridges of Ross right up to Doonbeg there are gullies waiting to be explored!
The last standing Sea Arch (or bridge) at The Bridges of Ross
We have had success with Ballan Wrasse recently at The Bridges of Ross, Farrihy near Kilkee and Puleen near Doonbeg. It rained heavily in Farrihy but that did not put us or the fish off! In the photograph of Anthony’s Wrasse you will notice a blur in the top left corner! This is a wrasse scale which somehow got onto the lens of the camera! This is the best Wrasse to date on Soft Plastic weighing 3 lbs. 13 oz.
Anthony's wrasse, great fish!
The best Soft Plastic Lure would appear to be a Yoshikawa Superworm in a green colour. Senko in watermelon also works well.
This mark can only be fished 3 hrs before Low and 3 hrs up in good conditions as it gets cut off by the tide!Anthony chills out and ponders
For tips and advice and to follow our progress find us on Facebook at West Clare LRF where you can also see our collection of photographs and videos from our Fishing Sessions.
Neil O'Neill with a fine 5 lb. sea trout from Lough Currane
Ghillie/Guide Vincent Appleby reports on the recent fishing in the Lough Currane area.
21/6/12 I start this week’s report with an apology to renowned Angler Mr. Neil O’Neil, I stated in last week’s report that on the 17/6/12 that Neil caught 5 sea trout all in the 1 lb. class this incorrect, in actual fact Neil caught a cracker of a sea trout of 5 lb. caught on the fly, all I can say is sorry for that, but at least the record has been put straight
Neil O'Neill with a fine 5 lb. sea trout from Lough Currane
All the headlines go to the hired out boat department of www.lakelandshouse.com Mr. David Vaughn and Mr. Leon Smith caught 2 sea trout in the 3 lb. class and they also saw a good few Juniors which is good news and staying Franks Hired out boat department Mr. Bill Bullock caught a fine 2 lb. sea trout and finished his day off with a 4 lb. sea trout, wind all over the place and overcast. 22/6/12 on the salmon front, a guest fishing with his ghillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy and of www.fishingwithdom.com caught a grilse of just 2 lb. which they sportingly put back and they finished day off with a sea trout of 3 lb. on the fly and staying with the sea trout, just the odd Junior caught. Wind NW fresh to strong then veered WSW and veered S this evening fresh with reasonable cloud cover. 23/6/12 Mr. Jonathan Fish of the UK fishing with his ghillie Mr. Vincent O’Sullivan and of www.vincentsfishing.com caught a fine grilse in the 5 lb. class and 1 sea trout in the 2 lb. class, which they sportingly put all back, Mr. Keith Francis of Northampton of the UK fishing with his gillie Mr. Tom O’Shea of tomfishing@eircom.net caught 2 fine sea trout ranging from 2.5 lb. and up to 4 lb. and in in their C&R department Keith released a fine sea trout in the 5 lb. class, now we cut across to the south side and the hired out boat department of www.lakelandshouse.com Mr. Barry Vaughn, caught a 5.5 lb. sea trout on the fly and I believe the this fly is some fly of distinction, the reason I say this, it was especially made for Barry by a good friend, and as he has caught a good few game fish on this fly his good friend as requested to have the fly returned back to him, all I can say is if Barry dose return this noble fly all I can say is Captain Mainwaring to that if you get my drift. And just for the record Barry was fishing with his good friend Mr. Phil Hawker, and in the losing department. Mr. John Lennon, lost a cracker of a sea trout and finished off his day by losing a fine salmon, talk about bad luck but that’s fishing. Wind was all over the place and eventually went south and overcast with light for most of the day.
24/6/12 There was good action in the trolling department and where do start at the beginning, on the early shift Mr. Dan Sugrue of Waterville, caught 3 salmon all in in the 8 to 9 lb. class, as always Dan was fishing with his ghillie Mr. Brod O’Sullivan of Stella Maris Waterville, also in good form was Mr. Donal O’Shea and of www.curranelodge.com who caught a fine 6 lb. grilse on the troll, now we cut across to the south side, Mr Peter Keenan caught a 6 lb. grilse on the troll fishing in a hired out boat from Mr. Sylvester Donnelly, Now for my fish of the day and that goes to Mr. Ernest Smyth, who left Co Tyrone at 3.45 am this morning and by 3.45 pm this afternoon caught himself a fine 6 lb. grilse on the troll fishing with his ghillie Mr. Michael O’Sullivan of Waterville Boats and of watervilleboats@gmail.com
Ghillie Michael O Sullivan with Mr. Ernest Smyth Co Tyrone with a nice grilse
Now To the catch and release sea trout department, Mr. Keith Francis of the UK caught 3 sea trout ranging from Juniors up to 2 lb., fishing with his ghillie Mr. Tom O’Shea and of tomfishing@eircom.net staying with the sea trout, Mr. Paddy Barrette, fishing with his ghillie Mr Bob Priestley caught 2 sea trout, ranging from Junior Class up to 3 lb.
25/6/12 Straight to the salmon department, Mr. Ian McMullan of Co Wicklow, fishing with his ghillie Mr. Neil O’Shea and of www.oshealoughcurrane.com caught 2 fine salmon/grilse on the troll, ranging from 5 lb. up to 6 lb., and in the sea trout department Mr. Jim Sayers of Waterville caught 2 sea trout in the 2 lb. class and one he put back. Wind S fresh and overcast.
Mr. Ian McMullan, Wicklow with two nice grilse fishing with ghillie Neil O'Shea.
26/6/12 Straight to catch of the day and goes to Mr Peter Glover of Perth Scotland, who caught 3 grilse on the fly, fishing with his ghillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy and of www.fishingwithdon.com on the sea trout front nothing that would hit the headlines, wind SW fresh and overcast light misty rain throughout the day.
Mr. Peter Glover, Perth, Scotland with ghillie Dominic McGillicuddy with three nice salmon
John O Connor took this fine tope on a half mackerel bait, after a 15 minute battle.
Wicklow Boat Charters skipper Kit Dunne reports on another weekend of great catches from the Wicklow fishing grounds. After 2 consecutive weekends of recording specimen Smooth-Hounds from Wicklow the focus switched to Tope for a party from Kells. A mixed group of 8 anglers from the Kells area set off on Sunday morning on what turned out to be an exceptional day. The forecast and tides were good and the keen group made the early start to give themselves the best opportunity of great fishing.
The group who were relatively new to animal fishing were delighted with a good start to the day with Ray and Bull-Huss caught in the first hour in a dying Ebb tide to slack water. After the slack and as the tide picked up slowly the fish still kept coming, baiting up big to snare the tope the lads were persistent in their efforts to bag a Tope.
Dave had a thing going on with Huss, this one took a whole squid.
John O Connor took this fine tope on a half mackerel bait, after a 15 minute battle.
The persistence paid off as Tope came during the run followed by a more Bull-Huss. As the strength in tide began to drop again there was a notable increase in catches with more tope and Smooth-hounds in numbers. The day ended with a hectic last 2 hours of Tope and Hound action, the dogfish went off and with a few big baits out the Tope came into their own. All in all the group caught and released, 11 Tope up to 40lb weight, 4 BullHuss, 13 Smooth-Hounds, (with only 12 peeler crab onboard), 2 Ray and over 80 Dogfish – Not bad for a days enjoyment ! The Kells boys look forward to another date booked for July.
Smooth-Hound made a burst in the last 2 hours.
This fine Thornback was taken in the slack.
Wicklow Boat Charters
Skipper : Kit Dunne
Base:Wicklow Harbour Operational area: Wicklow, Arklow, Bray, Dun Laoghaire, and Courtown – 20 miles from ports of departure.
The’second hatch’ of Mayfly on Sheelin, Pat O’Brien, Dublin is under attack from our winged friends and a spectacular dance of Mayfly along the Western shoreline on June 18th
Lough Sheelin Angling Report June 18th to June 24th
‘The more experienced Sheelin angler will do more watching and waiting than casting and fishing’
Anglers must take time to study this lake and read it carefully before deciding where to fish and what fly to use – many anglers are looking but not seeing and they need visualisation and understanding of this great lake to reap the benefits from this special stretch of water.
Sheelin fished well during the week but anglers were still sparse. Fishing was best from 7pm onwards and Thursday was the best day.
The weekend was slow with angling numbers increasing but not much movement of fish during the day. Sunday attracted fishermen from Kildare, Dublin and Northern Ireland with Templeogue man Hugho and his dog Olly sticking it out until dark in the hope of landing a fish which although it didn’t happen for them the numbers of big fish pitching was enough to lure them back for another day.
There are still mayfly hatches and plenty of spent. There were excellent numbers of mayfly on Thursday afternoon particularly from the Stony islands stretching right up into the middle of the lake. Fishing the sedge is gradually increasing on the lake as the month progresses and there were millions of sedges reported around Church island and the Bog Bay section of the lake in particular.
Sedge fishing is arguably reputed to be the cream of the fishing season on Sheelin and gets into full swing from about mid June onwards and continues right up to the end of the season – October 12th. Small brown sedge hatches become prolific as weeks advance. The best methods are fishing dry with as small asedge (brown) as possible (from 14 to 16’s).
If it doesn’t match, you won’t catch…
There are many tactics that can be employed to take fish during a sedge hatch but the most important thing to remember is that the fly must match the local hatch. Size and colour are of up- most importance.
The best flies used were the Green Mayfly, Spent Gnat, Grey Elk, Cinnamon Sedge, Goddard’s Black Caddis fly, Wickham’s Fancy, Silver Invicta and Gold Invicta, Murragh and Green Drake.
The’second hatch’ of Mayfly on Sheelin, Pat O’Brien, Dublin is under attack from our winged friends and a spectacular dance of Mayfly along the Western shoreline on June 18th
The L.S.T.P.A will be running a ‘not to be missed’ Youth Angling Day on Saturday July 21st at Lough Sheelin. This day is open to all 8 – 18 year olds. The day will include fly tying, casting and then fishing, finishing with a Bar-B-Q. Everyone must bring a life jacket and eye protection and of course lots of enthusiasm and energy.
Contact E.Ross @ 087 9436655 or Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033
A catch and release policy is actively encouraged on this lake
Please remember anglers that the size limit on this lake is 35.5 cm (14 inches) – we need our small fish alive…….
Heaviest fish for the week was a 5¼ lb trout caught by Mullingar man Jos Grimes
Total catch recorded for the week: 76
A Selection Of Catches were:
Jos Grimes, Mullingar – Monday June 18th 1 at 5¼ lbs using a red tazmanian devil and 3 at 2½, 2½ and 2lbs.
Philip Keena, Mullingar – 1 trout at 1½ lbs on a tasmanian devil
Tom Walsh, Kildare – on a spent gnat 3 trout at 5¼, 4 and 3lbs.
Thomas Lynch, L.S.T.P.A – 1 trout at 2¼lbs on a murrough on Tuesday June 19th.
Andrew Brown, L.S.T.P.A – 3 trout, 1 at 3lbs caught on a wet bumble and 2 at 1½ and 2lbs caught on a dry green.
Thomas Harton, Cavan – 6 trout averaging 1½ – 2¼lbs in weight on Tuesday and Wednesday around Derrysheridan, all on the sedge.
Niall Kavanagh, Balbriggan – 2 at 1½ lb each using a dry green.
Michael Kelly, Dublin – now that the fishing is moving towards the sedge, Michael is reverting back to his LF fly and this is working a dream for him, landing him two beautiful 4lb and 3lb trout on Wednesday and 2 more fish on the same day on wets at 2 to 2½ lbs. Tuesday after 6pm one trout at 1¾ lbs on a sedge, Thursday was very good with a total of 5 fish all on the sedge, heaviest was 3½lbs, others averaged 1¼ – 2lbs. Friday morning Michael was only out for a short while and landed 1 at 2lbs on the wet fly. Michael can be contacted for ghilling at 087 2608068.
Angling guide and well known coarse angler Peadar O’Brien from Carrickmacross reports that Muckno is up 2 metres however fishing has been very good on the Concra Wood and Church Shores. Feeder and waggler have all been producing results. Peadar also reports that the Brothers Lake is fishing well on pole for tench and bream with some nice carp also being taken on sweetcorn and pellets. Peadar fished with his friend Bill from England and they had 2 good days on Concra Wood and the Brothers Lake. Water levels are well up in most lakes in the Monaghan area.
Peadar O'Brien Shows a Nice Net of Coarse Fish from Muckno
Bill from the UK with a Nice Catch Taken at Concra Wood on Lough Muckno
Left to right Derek Madden Club Chairperson, Joe Creane joint winner, Michael Donnellan main sponsor presenting, Seamus Kelly joint winner, Michael McDermot assistant Treasurer, Sean Mitchell Treasurer
John Devaney reports: Lough O’Flynn
Reports of good catches of brown trout midweek while trolling. Lake O”Flynn & District Angling Association held their Annual Donnellan Cup on Sunday last 10th June with (15) boats 30 anglers competing in warm sunny conditions. While weather conditions were not ideal for angling nevertheless some good bags of fish were recorded with fish being taken mostly on Damsel nymphs, and fry imitations with the emphasis that finding the feeding depth was crucial for success. As in previous years anglers travelled from all parts of the country to contest the Donnellan Cup which has grown in stature over the years.
Results were as follows:
1st place Joe Creane Roundstone, & Seamus Kelly Oughterard Galway 12- Fish weighing (19 lb 05.2 oz.)
2 – nd Michael McDermot Castlerea & Derek Madden Tulsk 10- Fish for (14 lb 10.0 oz)
3 -rd Feichin McMurrough (snr)& Feichin McMurrough (jnr) 6 – Fish for (8 lb 14.2 oz.)
Heaviest fish winner was Neil Collins Galway.
Heaviest fish caught on the day was 2 lb 12oz.
Best Junior Angler was Fergal McKiernan Coosan Athlone
In total 30 Anglers caught 53 Fish not to bad return for poor angling conditions. Left to right Derek Madden Club Chairperson, Joe Creane joint winner, Michael Donnellan main sponsor presenting, Seamus Kelly joint winner, Michael McDermot assistant Treasurer, Sean Mitchell Treasurer
James Greene Snr and James Jnr with their 18lb 15oz pike, winners of the Poyntonia Cup.
John Devaney reports to us from the River Suck and Lough Ree:
Lough Ree
First prize went to an 18lb 15oz pike in the Athlone Anglers Association Competition for the Poyntonia Cup. The winners were father and son James Greene Jnr and James Greene Snr. Second place went to Brian Conway for his 18lb 6oz pike and third place went Michael and James Conway for their 17lb pike. Thirty three boats took part again this week with the vast majority fishing the southern end of the lake. The pike in first and second place were caught near the Cribby islands while the third place pike was caught at the mouth of the Hind river.
James Greene Snr and James Jnr with their 18lb 15oz pike, winners of the Poyntonia Cup.
River Suck
Levels still too high for bank fishing on most of the Suck. Some anglers from Shannonbridge tried boat fishing at the lower reaches but to no avail.
Midland Lakes and River Inny rerport by Dermot Broughan
Lough Derravaragh
With all the rain over the last three weeks water levels on Derravaragh have recovered to winter levels. The Newbridge anglers had a pike competition on Sunday. They caught and returned 5 fish for the day the best been 23lbs in weight. They also hooked one trout which weight in at 5¼ lbs.
Ballinafid lake
Over the past week no anglers have been fishing the lake.
Royal Canal
With all the rain over the week anglers have been slow to fish the canal, and have received no reports of good angling over the week.
River Inny
PJ Mc Carton reported good river fishing on the Glore river up stream of the lake. He had fish on the fly up to 1lb in weight
